


loving you is a talent

by donutcats



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Beth Lives AU, F/M, plus allusions to ace daryl in one of the sections, this is mostly fluff tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-20
Updated: 2015-10-20
Packaged: 2018-04-27 06:06:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5036734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/donutcats/pseuds/donutcats
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Daryl," she gets his attention, "would you catch me if I fell?"</p><p>"You plannin' on fallin'?" </p><p>"Maybe,"</p>
            </blockquote>





	loving you is a talent

**Author's Note:**

> I ended up creating this little au through a bunch of drabbles on skype that are too short to post on their own but create a bigger story together, so, please enjoy. This is the first twd thing I've ever posted.
> 
> btw; honestly, things seem a lot longer on skype.
> 
> The lyrics to Last Chance do not belong to me, but to the wonderful Emily Kinney. (fun fact; I listened to her This is War album on repeat while editing this)

It starts one day when Beth suddenly asks him, "ever cut hair before?"

"Whaddya take me for, girl? A hairdresser?"

She hands him her knife anyway, already situating herself in front of him, tugging the elastic out of her tangled hair. "Just, cut it. I'm sick of it bein' trouble."

He bitches, of course, but then she snatches the knife from him, shears off a chunk of her hair so it falls back, the ends brushing her shoulder, "use that as a guide.”

So Daryl finds himself cutting her hair, never admitting it but worrying over getting the length right.

\---

It's short enough so it doesn't get tangled up in nothing, but still just long enough so she can tie it back, away from her face.

A few days later, out of the blue once again, she asks him, "ever braid hair?"

"You have some weird expectations of me, ya know that?"

"Well Daryl Dixon, I think it's high time you learn."

It's almost deja vu, how he bitches about it even as she sits with her back to him, elbows resting on his knees, but then he's grumbling to himself, as his fingers clumsily try to weave her hair into _something_.

She guides him through it, explaining it as best as she can, even offering to use his hair as an example. (he says no of course)

When he's done, she has two french braids, and they're kind of lumpy and uneven but she's thrilled so he doesn't think he failed too much.

Later, when she asks him to do it again, she tells him why she wanted french braids.   
  
"That way my hair can be closer to my head sometimes, when it's feelin' too dirty, so it don't get in the way," and Daryl just grunts in reply, lets her continue talking as he fumbles his way through the second braid.

Daryl wakes up the next morning, and when he runs a hand through his hair, he feels a braid there, tucked away. He wants to be mad, at how she did it while he was sleeping no less, but then he catches her, smiling proudly and, well ok, maybe he's a bit impressed that she didn't even manage to wake him.

(neither one of them mention how he doesn't take it out)

===

Beth Greene with short hair is one of those things you can never really imagine until you see it for yourself, one of those changes that doesn't even cross your mind until it happens.

Like throwing out your old couch and replacing it with a slightly newer couch. It's different, but not in a bad way. Just in a way you have to get used to. In a way where you never imagined a world where your couch would be gone, but now that it is well, it ain't so bad.

She seems older, in a way, and he wonders if that's because of just her hair or if it's because of a lot of other things. Wonders if it's just now, looking at her, _really_ looking at her, that he can see it.

===

One thing he learns about her, is how much she loves hats. She's not a fan of the cold weather, but she loves hats.

He remembers scavenging through some Save-a-lot store, throwing anything that looked useful into a bag he grabbed, when she comes around the corner, so fast he thinks a walker is on her heels, but before he can get his crossbow off his back, she's shoving different colored beanies in his face.

"The _fuck_?" He pushes them away, but she's still smiling, bringing them closer to her chest.

"Oh Daryl! I found so many _hats_ , I can't believe it! Why'd anyone just pass up such nice hats!"

Then she's tugging one on her head, it's neon pink and he's pretty sure walkers would be able to see it states away, but damn she looks so happy.

"You tryin' to be seen from space?"

"Why d'ya think I found a black one too? I'm not _stupid_ , I just wanted a little fun is all."

He grunts, throws the last can of food into his bag, "it don't look so bad on you."

"I got one for you too!" Beth exclaims suddenly, and before he can react, she's jumping up and pulling it onto his head. "Now, you truly fit the redneck vibe."

"Got me a damn camo one, didn't ya?"

"How could I not?"

"I _should_ be insulted."

"But you ain't." Her voice lilts as she grins at him, her big blues eyes sparkling.

Another grunt, as he tugs off the beanie, stares at the stupid camo pattern of it, and then promptly stuffs it into his bag.

\---

Beth wakes up one morning, this time in an actual bed because they managed to find some abandoned place, and before she even fully gets up she can tell how chilly it is. She pulls her beanie on, the neon pink one because she knows how it makes Daryl squint and frown, and after tugging on her boots she shuffles into the next room.

She finds Daryl at the tail end of starting up a fire in the living room’s small fireplace, a pile of game on the floor, and she's guessing he went hunting while she was still sleeping.

When he turns around, knowing she's there even though she tried her best not to make a noise, she can't help but laugh, which only makes him frown deeper than normal.

"You're- oh my gosh you're actually wearing it!"

"S'cold, rather look like a damn fool than freeze."

"You're adorable! All pouting in your camo hat."

“Shuddup." Daryl grumbles as he roughly picks up one of the squirrels, ducking his face away from Beth’s giggles.

===

She's laying on the ground, in her black beanie and an oversized floral sweater, arms stretched over her head, cigarette hanging from her lips, looking up through the canopy of the leaves.

They're already turning to fire, to oranges and yellows and reds, matching the embers of the cigarette she snatched when Daryl wasn't looking.

Speaking of, she catches sight of his boots out of the corner of her eye, takes the cigarette away from her lips, and then he's there, leaning over, blocking out the sunlight through the leaves, frowning.

"I thought you went missin', if you're gonna run away next time, least let me know," then he's sitting next to her, up near her head. "Those things kill, ya know,"

Beth can't help but laugh, "there's a lot quicker ways to die in this world."

"Still ain't good for you."

She remembers who exactly she got it from, the irony not lost on her.

"Don't worry, I completely and utterly," she takes a drag, long and deep, the paper cracking as it turns to ash, and he snatches it from her lips, " _despise_ it," then she's exhaling, already figuring out how not to cough while doing so.

When she twists her body towards him, he's finishing off what was left of her cigarette, looking at her through his hair.

"I really do, hate it I mean. Just wanted to see how terrible it was."

"S'pretty terrible."

Beth hums in response, curling an arm under her head, leaves rustling under her movement.

"We gonna sit in the dirt all day, or what?" Another hum, and he sighs, "well, alright." Then he's laying down next to her, arms crossed behind his head, squinting up at the sky.

===

Beth finds a guitar, by some miracle, in the back of some closet of a house they stumbled upon.

She opens the case, expecting anything but what it was made for, expecting someone to use it as a normal bag, but she's absolutely delighted when there's an honest to God guitar.

She shows it off to Daryl, who's setting up tin cans around the perimeter, and he just says, "well ain't that lucky."

Later, after they've eaten what they could for dinner, she pulls it out, cradles it in her lap.

"Oh, no," He grouses, in a teasing tone, laying back on the wooden floor of the living room, and she just smiles.

"Oh, yes. Got any requests, Mr. Dixon?"

"Silence." She knows he doesn’t mean it.

"Don't think I know that one, I'm afraid. Anythin' else?"

Her smile doesn't waver at all, even as he runs a hand down his face, tucking the other under his head. "Somethin' that ain’t country fer once?"

"Daryl Dixon, are you tellin' me, you're sick of country songs? What kinda Georgian boy are you."

"The kind sick of country songs."

Beth hums in a displeasing way, fingers plucking at random cords as she narrows her eyes at him. "Well, alright. I mean, I'm a good southern girl, all I know are old country songs or hymns."

He groans this time, "God no, I rather the damn country."

"I could try to think of somethin' else, somethin' that ain't country or gospel."

Daryl huffs, stretches his legs out, ankle pressing into Beth's knee. "Go on, sing then. There ain't nothin' else to do."

So she sings, picks her favorite song and tries to remember the cords.

 

_So gimme whatcha, gimme whatcha got tonight_

_Pack of cigarettes_

_Baby, I'm your light_

_Gimme whatcha, gimme whatcha, gimme whatcha can_

_I'm the last pretty girl_

_You're the last decent man_

\---

She loses the guitar one day, when a walker decides to grab at the first thing it could reach, tearing the case from her shoulder. The force of the walker causes her to trip over it, and after the walker is dead and the adrenaline is dying down, she sees that the guitar got smashed, first from her falling on it and then from the walker falling on it.

He remembers what feels like a lifetime ago, when she told him, "I don't cry anymore, Daryl."

He decides not to mention it, instead he holds her in the middle of an empty street as she cries over a broken guitar.

It's just a broken instrument to him, but he thinks it maybe meant more to her. Something close to a symbol of hope.

It's bullshit but, he's not gonna tell her that.

He gives her a piggyback for the rest of the day.

He thinks she might have earned it in a fucked up way.

Beth sniffles into his shoulder as he's walking down the side of the road, mumbles a sorry into his vest.

"Sorry for what? For bein' sad? No need for that."

"I feel stupid, it was just a guitar."

"Ain't got much left in this world that makes us happy. 'Course you're gonna be sad."

"You make me happy," it's a whisper, as she turns her face fully into the back of his shoulder.

"Well damn, then I hope you cry that much if I ever get smashed by a walker."

_"Daryl!"_

She's pounding a fist on his back, and he has to get a better grip on her so all her flailing doesn't make her fall.

But there's a breathy laugh hiding between her anger and that's worth it.

===

Daryl and Beth manage to stumble upon the others, almost literally.

Beth trips over a gnarled root, practically falling out of the tree line and into a clearing, and Daryl already has his hand out, ready to help her right herself, but then she gasps and is taking off across the clearing.

His eyes snap up and follow her, and then he’s running as well once he sees their group, their _family_ , resting a little ways away.

By the time he gets to them, Beth is already in Maggie’s arms, hugging her and telling her how much she missed Maggie.

Rick claps him on the shoulder before pulling him into a hug of his own, and Daryl lets him, because maybe he missed them too.

“Oh my god, what happened to your hair?” Maggie exclaims, fingers rubbing at the short strands, and Daryl pulls away from Rick when he hears Beth’s laughter, light and clear, like bells.

“Daryl cut it for me! It was gettin’ so annoyin’, so he just chopped it off.” Beth touches her hair too, turning her head to smile at Daryl. “He did a pretty good job if you ask me.”   
  
Rick’s looking at him, and so is Carol, their eyebrows raised, and he is _not_ in the mood to be blushing right now.

\---

There's a huge fallen tree in the way while they’re walking, and every one gets over it fine, but when Beth is climbing over, Daryl just grabs her around the waist, her hands bracing on his shoulders, helping her over.  
  
It’s such a casual thing, such a normal thing, he doesn’t even think about it. Because it’s just something they’ve come to do.

She doesn't stop talking at all, only breaking off enough to say a sweet _thank you Daryl,_ and then she's back to telling Maggie about the first time she managed to shoot a buck and how proud Daryl was and man he's blushing again.

Michonne and Rick share a Look.

===

They're setting up camp and Beth automatically sets her stuff down right next to Daryl's.

She grabs his jacket and slips it on without asking him when it gets late and chilly and he doesn't say a thing.

While everyone is sitting around the fire and eating what they managed to throw together for something resembling dinner, she grabs their portions and sits next to him, and he takes his without saying a word.

When it's time to settle down for the night, she has to tell him it's ok to let someone else take watch, her small hand on his arm, and then he's throwing himself on the ground, and she's rolling her eyes and laying next to him.

They sleep back to back and no one really mentions it.

It's morning and they're getting ready to head out and he grabs up her bag and throws it over his shoulder, and she's still wearing his jacket, and she's picking up his crossbow and there's just a familiarity about the way they hold each other's things.

Like it's not Beth's or Daryl's, it's just,  _theirs_.

Their spot, their dinner, their things.

\---

 

It takes awhile for everyone to get used to the new dynamic, they have to get used to Beth and Daryl being part of the group but separate in some weird way no one can put words to.

They have to get used to the fact that they tend to look out for each other first and everyone else second.

They have to get used to how they gravitate towards each other, no matter where they are.

Daryl volunteers to go on a supply run and Beth starts getting her stuff together, like it's just a fact she's going with him.

And maybe it is because Daryl doesn't say a thing about it, only throwing out a, "ain't waitin' on you all day girl," as he passes by, barely dodging a kick to the back of his calf.

They're always walking together, either right next to each other, or Beth always in front, always just a few steps ahead of him.

===

"Think I could climb that?" Beth's standing beside a tree, looking up into its branches.

Maggie pauses next to her, following her gaze up. "Are you crazy? No need to be climbin' trees."

"Worth a try though." Daryl comes up beside them both, hands stuffed into his pockets.

Beth almost immediately grabs onto the tree, boots slipping against the bark.

"Need a boost?" He drawls, lazily looking past her, further into the branches.

 _"No."_  It almost sounds snappy, but Daryl doesn't take it personally, knows she just wants to do things on her own. Needs to do things on her own.

After a good handful of minutes, she finally pulls herself up onto the first sturdy branch, swinging around to straddle it.

"Did it!" She lifts her arms above her head, feeling the leaves above her against her fingers. She's beaming and Daryl might just be smiling back.

The rest of the group has gathered around the tree, either looking up at her or taking a rest around the area.

Maggie squints up at her, trying her best not to frown.

"Daryl," Beth gets his attention as she precariously stands up on the branch, opening her arms wide to balance herself, "would you catch me if I fell?"

"You plannin' on fallin'?"

"Maybe," she says, and he doesn't like the glint in her eye that he can see, even feet below her.

"No one plans on fallin', girl."

She scoffs, tests the branch by bouncing on it a bit. Maggie sucks in a breath beside him. "I ain't just no one, you should know that by now."

Before he can reply, she's twisting her body, throwing herself to the side, and his arms fly out in front of him, already bracing on instinct.

With a squealing laugh, she thuds into his chest, and his arms curl around her as her arms go around his neck.

" _Dammit_ , warn me next time. You coulda gotten hurt."

"But I didn't, 'cause I trust ya."

Daryl grunts in response, and she just kicks her legs back and forth, humming happily as he holds her bridal style.

"Yer a bunch of fuckin' trouble, you know that?"

"I'm well aware Mr. Dixon."

Neither one of them notice Maggie, on the verge of a heart attack beside them.

===

"So," Maggie draws the word out, catching Beth's attention.

The two of them are alone, walking through the woods, a crossbow held firmly in Beth's hands. Beth mentioned she wanted to go hunting, and since Daryl was out on a supply run with Glenn, that meant Maggie was able to accompany her for once.

Maggie ducks below a low hanging tree branch before she continues, "You an' Daryl."

Beth keeps walking, throwing a look over her shoulder at her sister. "Daryl and me, what?"

"You two seem, a lot closer."

"Well, months without any other person to interact with does this funny thing to you. Makes you closer to them."

"Now you're just being sarcastic." Magge scoffs, but she still finds it amusing.

Her sister always had a spark to her, and it seemed to grow since she last saw her at the prison.

Before it was a spark, now it was a roaring, crackling fire, glinting behind Beth's eyes, licking out at every remark.

Beth hums in reply, stepping over a fallen tree easily. "And you're just bein' vague."

"I know somethin's goin' on with you two, Beth." Best to just, get it out there. If there was one thing Beth appreciated, it was honesty.

The hand that was held out to Maggie, offering her support over the tree, seems to still at those words, drop a bit out of reach.

"There ain't nothin' going on Maggie." Her voice is guarded, like she's already resigned herself to defending against her older sister, no matter what else Maggie has to say on the matter.

"Beth, please," Maggie makes her way over the tree by herself, raising an eyebrow at Beth once she's safely on the other side. "I know how it is. And even if there ain't nothin' goin' on _now_ , all guys want the same thing. I just wanted to talk to you, tell you to be _safe_ -"

" _Gross_ ," Beth huffs, turning on her heel and heading deeper into the woods, eyes already back to scanning the ground for tracks.

Maggie sighs and follows behind, waiting for Beth to calm down some so that maybe she can continue the conversation. Whether her baby sister wants to hear this or not, she still needs to know.

"And, not all guys want the same thing." It's Beth who picks it back up, irritation clear in her voice. " _Daryl_ doesn't want that."

"How do you know?" She doesn't mean to sound snappy, it just comes out like that. What does Beth know about what guys want?

Maggie picks up her pace, catching up with Beth so they're standing relatively next to each other. But it's mostly in vain, because then Beth stops in her tracks, turning to face Maggie.

"Because, I know Daryl. 'Cause- 'cause we _talked_ about it! He doesn't want any'a that stuff from me. And, it ain't my business to be tellin' why, but it is my business to be tellin' you if anythin' is going on like that, and it's _not_."

There's steel laced in Beth's voice, teeth clenched, shoulders squared, and it hits Maggie right then, in that moment, that her baby sister has grown up, into something bigger, stronger.

"So just drop it."

Then she's spinning on her heel, again, and even if the word _stomping_ is the closest thing Maggie can associate with her exit, Beth's foot falls are still quiet against the forest floor.

\---

Beth hadn't talked much to Maggie for the rest of the trip after that. When she did, it was small bits, about things that had no relation at all to their previous conversation. Things like how pretty the trees were, or how proud she was of herself for catching so many things without any help.

Now, Maggie's sitting near the fire pit, pressed up against Glenn's side as he tells her about him and Daryl's own trip.

Her eyes look over one of the rabbits roasting on a spit to look at Beth, off to the side, setting up her bedding, (and as Maggie assumes, Daryl's bedding as well) and then she's sliding her gaze to Daryl, sitting on the other side of the fire, skinning the rest of the game that Beth managed to catch.

If there was something going on between the two of them, and Maggie uses the word _if_ loosely, trying her hardest to listen to Beth and not jump to conclusions, if they were together, well Maggie thinks Daryl isn't a bad choice for her sister.

She starts making a pros and cons list, but she only gets as far as 'Pro; he's not a _terrible_ conversationalist, when he's in the mood to talk at least,' when she stops herself, focusing on Beth walking over to Daryl.

It looks like Beth makes to sit next to Daryl on the log, but then her arms are sliding around his shoulders, her face burying into the back of his neck. She's draping herself across his back and all Daryl does is duck his head and smile.

Pro: no one can make Daryl smile except Beth

Maggie sits up straighter, gaze sharp, and she feels Glenn straighten up beside her.

Daryl drops the game he's holding, carefully setting down the knife as well, and then he’s reaching up, gently holding both of her small hands. His thumb rubs against her knuckles, and Maggie can see she's mumbling something against his skin, which makes him look around at the rest of the group, eyes both watchful and shy.

Like he's embarrassed that she's laying all over him, but he doesn't want to be.

His eyes meet Maggie's, and the small smile falters.

Maggie just gives a nod, a smile of her own, and then she's tucking herself back against Glenn, tugging on his shirt to get his attention.

"Don't stare, let them have this."

Maggie never manages to fill out her Cons list.

\---

"So," Carol draws the word out, catching Daryl's attention.

She's standing next to him, where he's leaning against a tree and smoking. He raises his eyebrows at her, stuffing the pack back into his pocket.

"You and Beth." Carol's trying not to smile, but he can tell she's struggling.

"What about it?"

"I saw you two last night, around the fire." She bumps her hip against him, not even hiding her smile anymore.

Daryl narrows his eyes, purses his lips around the cigarette.

They're both quiet for a beat, but Carol doesn't take his silence personally, she knows how he is. She just continues to smile at him, like she _knows_ , already.

She doesn't know, and that's what makes Daryl bristle.

"It ain't like that." Is his gruff reply, smoke pouring over his lips as he glares at Carol.

"Ain't like what? I didn't say anything."

"Don't gotta _say_ anythin', I know what you're gettin' at."

Carol leans against the tree as well, arms still wrapped around herself. Daryl learned early on that's just how Carol stands, that's just her natural stance, tall and imposing but still protecting herself.

Her expression sobers, "You just seem close, is all. I wasn't trying to imply anything Daryl." She lets him grunt in reply, before she decides to speak again. "But, if there _was_ anything like that happening-"

"There _ain't_."

Talking to Daryl sometimes felt like talking to a very stubborn child, and Carol knows she's the only person, other than Rick, (and probably Beth) that can continue to push him until he either snaps angrily or opens up.

"Do you _want_ there to be anything going on?"

The cigarette is thrown to the ground, crushed under the heel of Daryl's boot, and it's quiet for so long, Carol has resigned herself to not getting an answer, to sighing out a sorry.

"Nah," it's a mumble, Daryl's head ducks and turns away from her.

"Oh," she shifts against the tree, staring out onto the campsite, "right, you're friends. I'm sorry for assuming."

Daryl slides down, until he's sitting, knees near his chest. "She's more than a friend but- I 'unno, I don't want none of _that_ ," he's still mumbling, fingers messing with a stick he picked up. "Never really been into any’a that."

" _Oh_ ," Carol says again, joining him on the ground.

"Don't gotta say it like that, like it's some sorta, revelation."

"It sort of is, I mean, a lot of things make sense now." Carol snickers then, bumping her shoulder into his. "You can say _sex_ , by the way, we're not in middle school."

"Lotta what things?" Daryl ignores her second statement, ears turning red.

"Well, while everyone else was settling down at the prison, you never really gave anyone a second look. Never even _heard_ about you going after anyone. And as one of your best friends, I feel like I would have known about it."

Daryl snorts, snapping the stick in two. "Never had a best friend before."

"Well, now you got two. Or well, maybe just me. Rick is your brother, don't know if you consider him best friend material."

"Nah," he throws one half away, messing with the other half, "I got two."

Carol makes a questioning noise, looking over at him. "Beth?"

Daryl makes a noise back at her.

"How adorable."

"Shuddup."

Another few beats of silence fall over them, as they just sit there, enjoying each others company.

"So, you and Beth are, something, but not in the type of way most people assume?" Carol ventures, trying to understand as best as she could.

"People assumin' things?"

"Normal things that would be assumed when two people spend a hell of a lot of time together."

Daryl responds with a grunt, "yeah, we somethin' alright."

"That's good."

 

===

They find their way to Alexandria, eventually.

There’s a man, named Aaron, convincing them to come, check out this fabled safe zone, walls that touch the sky and houses that are clean and spotless.

Beth can tell everyone is wary, sceptical, and she can’t blame them. Not after everything they’ve been through, but she can’t help herself when she agrees with Michonne, when she hopes against hope, when she tells Rick, “this could be somethin’ good.”

Because as much shit as Beth Greene has been through, she can’t help but hope. It’s in her nature, it’s something that her daddy nurtured in her. He’d tell her sometimes, when all else fails, you’ll always have hope.

She remembers the story of Pandora’s box, about how every terrible thing lived and writhed inside that box, how the world was peaceful and perfect until the seal was cracked.

Everyone seems hung up on middle of the story, on the parts where chaos and destruction crawled out, how it razed villages and ruined lives. The phrase Pandora’s box is used to explain something that has a horrible ending.

Beth has always focused on the end of the story, the ending people seemed to forget, always remembers her daddy’s voice as he asks her, “and what was at the bottom of that box, Beth? When every evil had gone, what was left?”

_Hope._

\---

Beth Greene smiles and wears pastel dresses and cardigans and barrettes in her hair, she takes a page from Carol and plays at suzie homemaker because it's _easy_ for her.

It's easy to pretend that she's this sweet little girl who knows nothin' about zombies.

It's easy to sit in front of Deanna and the camera, the lies slipping easily off her tongue as Deanna asks her question after question for her interview.

It's easy for her to act like she's survived purely by luck, purely by riding the coattails of others.

Because that's what people expect from Beth Greene, don't they? Nineteen and naive to the world, probably cries herself to sleep each night, probably never killed a walker before.

She's demure, and shy, and soft spoken.

She's little Beth Greene who still writes in her diary and wishes against everything that the world was normal again.

Beth learns she's a pretty good actress when she puts her mind to it.

(She still has hope, but Alexandria is woefully sheltered, and she thinks Carol has the right idea. She doesn’t want to seem like a threat, let Rick play that part.)

 

\---

 

Beth makes friends with two kids around her age, a girl and a boy, the only other two teenagers in Alexandria.

The girl, Molly, is her age and the boy, Zack, boasts about how he just turned Twenty.

Beth continues to call him a boy, regardless.

He's been in Alexandria since the outbreak.

He was soft, he was weak.

He's a boy.

Molly managed to find Alexandria with her family near the beginning, but she still saw her fair share of terrible things

Beth has more respect for her.

She's a survivor.

===

The three of them are sitting on Molly's porch when Zack makes the joking suggestion of heading out of the walls, sneaking out when no one's looking.

He's never properly been outside of the walls before, of course it's just a joke to him.

But, Beth can see the way Molly's eyes sparkle at the suggestion, and Beth too feels a rush of excitement at the possibility.

"Let's do it." She catches herself saying, but she doesn't take it back.

Zack looks surprised at this, like he wasn't expecting her to want to go outside of the walls, into the big scary world.

But oh does she want to.

After changing from her circle skirt and blouse into more sensible jeans and boots, Beth rounds the corner to find Daryl sitting on the living room floor, taping up his arrows, making sure they don't break.

"I'm sneakin' out." She states simply.

He looks up, fingers stilling. "Last time I checked, you ain't 'sposed to tell someone you're sneakin' out. That's the whole point."

She hums an agreement, but shrugs anyways. "What if somethin' happens though? Then nobody will know where I am. Bad things could happen."

"What, am I your plan B or somethin'?"

"Or somethin'." She's grinning now, and he can't help but smirk back.

"Got yer knife?" a hum, "Got anythin' else?"

"Sadly no, you really think Zack or Molly could sneak weapons?"

It's his turn to grunt a reply, and then he's silent for a few seconds. "Y'should go to the armory, tell 'em that I sent you for the crossbow they have."

"And if they ask _why_ I need it?"

"You'll think a somethin'." He’s hiding his grin, fingers working at his bolts.

"I'll see ya later Daryl, once I'm done bein' a rebelious teen."

He nods a goodbye and then she's heading for the walls.

\---

"Will you _kindly_ shut the hell up?"

She doesn't mean to snap, honest she doesn't, but Zack doesn't understand the whole, 'gotta be quiet in the woods' thing.

"What is your problem Beth? You've been like this since we got out here. This is supposed to be fun!"

She rounds on him, crossbow firm in her hand. It doesn't feel like Daryl's, it feels newer, less used. But it'll suffice.

"My problem is the fact that you don't seem to get that bein' loud attracts the walkers." It's a hiss through her teeth, as she tries to keep her annoyance under wraps.

Molly stands silently by her side, kitchen knife tucked into her back pocket.

Zack showed up weaponless.

Beth wasn't surprised.

She turns back, stalking through the trees. "And for your information, I'm having tons of fun."

And she was, walking through the woods. She feels like she can breathe again, away from the stuffy enclosure that’s Alexandria. Branches brush against her arms, and sometimes she’ll purposefully crunch a leaf under her boot, because she’s so happy out here that she could sing.

If Zack wasn’t being a pain, that is.

"Well I'm not." She hears him mumble.

Her lack of surprise continues, when she hears shuffling and groaning coming from the left, and before either of the other two can react, there's a bolt burying itself between its dead eyes.

It falls heavily at Zack's feet.

His own eyes are wide, fearful.

Beth has the sick thought that she should have let it get closer. Let it maybe brush his arm, growl in his face, before she put it down.

She clenches her jaw and pushes that thought away as she plants a boot on the walker's chest, using it as leverage to drag the arrow out of it's head, with a wet slick as it comes free.

She resists the urge to look at him and say _told ya so_.

Zack's looking at her like, he's seeing her for the first time.

And maybe he is, as she wipes off rotting blood from her arrow, steps over the corpse like it's just a log on her path.

Maybe he's seeing Beth Greene, Survivor.

\---

If Zack had a thing for her before The Woods Incident (trademarked), she's sure he doesn't anymore.

They still hang out, the three of them, but he acts less cocky around her, less like he has something to prove.

When she told Daryl about the Incident, and the distancing that followed, he just laughed, honest to God _laughed_.

"Yer the Alpha now, girl. Showed him there's a bigger, meaner dog in town, and he ain't ready to fuck with ya."

Beth huffed at him then, shoved at his shoulder and told him to shut up.

Now though, she thinks he might be right, as Zack avoids making eye contact with her.

(She remembers reading how in wolf packs, there's always two Alpha's. Leaders of the pack. If she's the Alpha, that would make Zack the bottom of the totem pole. Beth has an idea who the other Alpha would be.)

 

===

 

The three of them are sitting in the grass outside Molly's house one afternoon, and Beth is laying on her back, squinting up at the sun. Her hair and skirt are fanned out, fingers working at the blades of grass, tearing them up and throwing them into the wind without looking. 

Molly and Zack are talking, some conversation about an Alexandrian event that happened before she showed up. Their voices are like a background track, and Beth gets the feeling like she's just on the edge of whatever friendship they have.

She's ok with that. 

Beth's still getting back into the swing of this whole, _friends_ thing. She used to have friends, before the turn. Before her childhood home burned down.

Now though, Beth Greene only deals in _Family_ and _Enemies_.

She's learning how to make friends again, how to add in the third category. Someone that she enjoys being with, but isn't an enemy, because they aren't trying to kill her. But isn't family, because she isn't willing to die for them. 

For a very short period of time, she thinks Daryl fit into that third category, before being catapulted into calling him family. Before she grew close to him, before she could sleep a full night without having to worry where he was.

She might have to create a fourth category, for Daryl alone. Titled, _something more than family_. 

Speaking of, Beth sits up when her ears pick up on his light footsteps coming up the sidewalk. He moves silently, even through the town, years of training himself to be quiet in the woods carrying over into a 'safe' space. She's gotten good at being able to hear him approaching. 

"Hey there, stranger." Beth calls out, lifting her hand in a wave. Daryl comes to a stop at her voice, on the sidewalk in front of where she's laying.

Molly and Zack turn their attention at her voice as well, eyes going a bit wide at the sight of Daryl.

Daryl hums a greeting of his own, fingers tightening around the strap of his bow. She tucks her legs under herself, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees. 

"Did ya wanna come sit with us?" Beth asks cheerily, and she knows he's not going to, would rather shrivel up then sit with these kids. But it doesn't hurt to ask, in an innocent voice. 

"Pft, nah. Got important adult stuff to do."

"Oh really?" Her eyes sparkle, and Beth can tell Molly and Zack are shifting so they can get a better view of her and Daryl. "What sorta adult things? Meetings? Taxes? Conference calls?"

Daryl's face scrunches up just a bit, and Beth can't help but giggle. "It's fuckin' sad that you ain't far off. _Meetings_." He scoffs, turning his gaze down the street. "Got a whole lotta things that're more important than who's makin' cookies fer next week." 

Beth's face fully scrunches up, and she makes a little noise in the back of her throat. "Obviously it's gonna be Carol." He snorts at that, head turning back towards her, and it's a split second decision but anything is better than meetings. "Wanna go trackin' instead?" 

"With you?" His eyes glance to the side of her, and she catches Zack looking away out of the corner of her vision. Molly just narrows her eyes. "Yeah, alright. Guess ditchin' ain't a bad idea." Daryl shakes his head, huffing in that amused way of his. "Yer such a bad influence." 

"I know." Beth sing-songs, stretching out her legs and leaning back on her hands. "I'll meet you by the gate later." 

After he nods as a goodbye and is off, Beth turns to look at the two sitting next to her. "What?" 'Cause they're both staring at her, expressions she can't place on their faces.

"Just can't believe you're friends with  _Daryl Dixon_." Zack's eyebrows creep towards his hairline, but he still shrugs, like it's actually not a big deal.

Beth bristles. "He's _more_ than a friend." 

The sight of their eyes bugging and their mouths dropping into small little _o's_ fills Beth with a terrible sense of pride, as she lays back in the grass, a grin splitting her face.

===

He's sitting on the porch, back against the railings, and when he hears the front door open, he looks up to see her walking towards him, barefoot, pale blue dress fluttering around her knees.

"Can I ask you a favor?"

He makes a vague noise, shrugging a shoulder, and she takes that as her cue to ask.

"Can you braid my hair for me?"

She's smiling, and he can see the colorful elastics poking out of her hand.

He thinks she looks like a cloudless sky, the type you see in the spring, bright and crisp, like it could breathe new life into you.

So he moves back a bit, feeling as she settles herself in front of him, in between his legs, arms automatically resting on his knees, and he's reminded of those times in the woods, when she first asked him.

He hasn't gotten much better since then, but he’s not going to tell her no.

 


End file.
